Corporate Library Excellence: Marketing Corporate Libraries as Value Centers.

Business Editors

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 29, 2003

Successful corporate libraries market their function as value centers rather than cost centers in order to maintain corporate support of their operations, according to a new study by research and consulting firm Best Practices, LLC. The study examines effective practices for the operation of corporate libraries and information centers in pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

"From Books to Bytes: Creating Effective Corporate Libraries in the Digital Age," online at http://www3.best-in-class.com/rr216.htm, reveals how leading corporate information centers demonstrate value by delivering services and resources for which the benefits exceed the costs. For example:

-- Successful managers attribute their libraries' effectiveness

to tailoring programs around strategic corporate information

needs and widely promoting program benefits to users and

stakeholders.

-- Clear mission statements help centers successfully target

their programs and assist them in securing funds.

-- Cost-effective corporate libraries must interact closely with

users and key stakeholders to learn how to build programs that

enhance productivity and enable informed business decisions.

The leading practices, managerial insights and benchmark metrics in this study are drawn from interviews and surveys at 25 health-care companies. In addition to information on how to demonstrate library value, this report includes indicators for:

-- Reinventing information center staff roles

-- Managing site licenses and resources

-- Implementing cost recovery programs

-- Maintaining a physical presence in virtual business

"The insights in this report provide information professionals with specific examples and recommendations on how to identify and close performance gaps in staffing, budgeting, recovering costs, purchasing and managing resources, providing research services, and marketing and demonstrating their value throughout their organization," said Paul Meade, Vice President at Best Practices, LLC.

Download a summary of "From Books to Bytes: Creating Effective Corporate Libraries in the Digital Age" at: http://www3.best-in-class.com/rr216.htm. For more information about this report or other benchmarking reports, contact Chris James at [phone] or at [e-mail].

ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, LLC

Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class companies. For more information about Best Practices, LLC, call [phone], or visit the corporate website at http://www.best-in-class.com/.